Responsible Use

The Bloomfield School District (BSD) recognizes that access to technology in school provides students greater opportunities to learn, engage, communicate, and develop skills that will prepare them for work, life and citizenship. We are committed to developing 21st century technology and communication skills that will allow students to be successful beyond the classroom.

This Responsible Use Policy outlines the guidelines and behaviors that users are expected to follow when using school technologies or personally ­owned devices on the school campus.

The Bloomfield School District network is intended for educational purposes.

All activity over the network or using district technologies may be monitored and retained indefinitely.

Access to online content via the network may be restricted in accordance with our policies and federal regulations, such as the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA).

Students are expected to follow the same rules for good behavior and respectful conduct online as offline.

Misuse of school resources may result in disciplinary action.

BSD makes a reasonable effort to ensure students’ safety and security online, but will not be held accountable for any harm or damages that result from use of school technologies.

Students are held accountable for actions on educational platforms used within the classroom even ​in cases that students are using a personal device at home.

Users of the district network or other technologies are expected to alert administrators and/or staff immediately of any concerns for safety or security.

Usage: All technologies provided by the district are intended for education purposes. All users are expected to use good judgment and to follow the specifics of this document as well as the spirit of it: be safe, appropriate, careful and kind; don’t try to get around technological protection measures; use good sense; and ask if you don’t know.

Examples of Responsible Use:

I will:

Use school technologies for school­-related activities.

Follow the same guidelines for respectful, responsible behavior online that I am expected to follow offline.

Treat school resources carefully, and alert staff if to any problem with their operation.

Encourage positive, constructive discussion if allowed to use communicative or collaborative technologies.

Alert a teacher or other staff member if I see threatening, inappropriate, or harmful content (images, messages, posts) online.

Use school technology at appropriate times, in approved places, for educational pursuits.

Cite sources when using online sites and resources for research.

Recognize that use of school technologies is a privilege and treat it as such.

Be cautious to protect the safety of myself and others.

Help to protect the security of school resources.

This is not an exhaustive list. Users should use good judgment when using school technologies.

Examples of Unacceptable Use
I will ​not​:

Violate any local, state or federal statute.

Use district technology in a way that could be personally or physically harmful.

Use district technology to access, create, store or distribute inappropriate images or content including but not limited to pornographic, obscene, abusive, illegal or sexually explicit content.

Take pictures, video or audio of other people without their permission.

Try to find ways to circumvent the school’s safety measures and filtering tools.

Use school technologies to send spam or chain mail.

Plagiarize content.

Post personally-­identifying information about myself or others.

Agree to meet someone I meet online in real life.

Use language online that would be unacceptable in the classroom.

Use school technology for illegal activities or to pursue information on such activities.

Attempt to hack or access sites, servers, or content that isn’t intended for my use.

This is not an exhaustive list. Users should use good judgment when using school technologies.

Violations of the Responsible Use Policy: Violations of this policy may have disciplinary repercussions, including but not limited to:

Restriction or suspension of network, technology, or device privileges

Notification to parents

Detention or suspension from school and school-­related activities

Other actions as deemed appropriate by school administration

Legal action and/or prosecution

Internet Access: BSD provides users with access to the Internet, including web sites, resources, content, and online tools. Access will be restricted in compliance with CIPA regulations and school policies. Internet browsing may be monitored and web activity records may be retained indefinitely.

Users are expected to respect that the web filter is a safety precaution, and should not try to circumvent it when browsing the internet. If a site is blocked and a user believes it shouldn’t be, the user should submit the site for review.

Mobile Devices: BSD may provide users with devices. Users should abide by the same acceptable use policies when using district-­issued devices off the school network as on the school network. Use of district-­issued devices off the school network may be monitored.

Personally-Owned Devices: Students should keep personally-­owned devices (including laptops, tablets, smartphones, and cell phones) put away during school hours—unless in the event of an emergency or as instructed by a teacher or staff for educational purposes.

Because of security concerns, when personally­-owned mobile devices are used on campus, they should not be used over the school network without express permission from IT staff. In some cases, a separate network may be provided for personally-­owned devices.

Email: BSD may provide users with email accounts for the purpose of school-­related communication. Availability and use may be restricted based on school policies. Students may not access personal email accounts on district devices.

If users are provided with email accounts, they should be used with care. Users should not send personal information; should not attempt to open files or follow links from unknown or untrusted origin; should use appropriate language; and should only communicate with other people as allowed by the district policy. Users are expected to communicate with the same appropriate, safe, mindful, courteous conduct online as offline. Email usage may be monitored and archived.

Social / Web 2.0 / Collaborative Content: Recognizing the benefits of collaboration brings to education, BSD may provide users with access to web sites or tools that allow communication, collaboration, sharing, and messaging among users.

Users are expected to communicate with the same appropriate, safe, mindful, courteous conduct online as offline. Posts, chats, sharing, and messaging may be monitored. Users should be careful not to share personally-­identifying information online. When using social platforms for the classroom, the same rules apply regardless of using a school device in the classroom or a personal device outside the classroom.

Security: Users are expected to take reasonable safeguards against the transmission of security threats over the school network. This includes not opening or distributing infected files or programs and not opening files or programs of unknown or untrusted origin.​ ​If a computer or mobile device is believed to be infected with a virus, please alert IT. Do not attempt to remove the virus or download any programs to help remove it.

Downloads: Users should not download or attempt to download or run .exe programs over the school network or onto school resources without express permission from IT staff. Users may be able to download other file types, such as images or videos. For the security of our network, download such files only from reputable sites, and only for educational purposes.

Digital Citizenship: Users should always use the Internet, network resources, and online sites in a courteous and respectful manner. Users should also recognize that among the valuable content online is unverified, incorrect,or inappropriate content. Use trusted sources when conducting research via the Internet.

As a point of emphasis, users should also remember not to post anything online that they wouldn’t want parents, teachers, or future colleges or employers to see. Once something is online, it’s out there—and can sometimes be shared and spread in ways that were never intended.

Plagiarism: Users should not plagiarize (or use as their own, without citing the original creator) content, including words or images, from the Internet. Users should not take credit for things they didn’t create themselves, or misrepresent themselves as an author or creator of something found online. Research conducted via the Internet should be appropriately cited, giving credit to the original author. Consequences for those who plagiarize is outlined in the student handbook.

Personal Safety: Users should never share personal information, including phone number, address, social security number, birthday, or financial information, over the Internet without adult permission. In addition, users should recognize that communicating over the Internet contains risks, and should carefully safeguard the personal information of themselves and others. Users should never agree to meet someone they meet online in real life without parental permission.

If a message, comment, image, or anything else online causes you concern for personal safety, bring it to the attention of an adult (teacher or staff if at school; parent if at home) immediately.

Cyberbullying: Cyberbullying is bullying and will not be tolerated. See handbook for more specific guidelines. Engaging in these behaviors, or any online activities intended to harm (physically or emotionally) another person, will result in disciplinary action and potential loss of privileges. In some cases, cyberbullying can be a crime. Remember that your activities are monitored and retained.

Limitation of Liability: BSD will not be responsible for damage or harm to persons, files, data, or hardware.While BSD employs filtering and other safety and security mechanisms, and attempts to ensure their proper function, it makes no guarantees as to their effectiveness.

BSD will not be responsible, financially or otherwise, for unauthorized transactions conducted over the school network.